Mali junta vows to take on jihadists after Bamako attack

Mali’s military leader Asimi Goita has vowed to maintain operations against jihadist fighters after the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM group carried out a major attack in the capital, Bamako, severely denting the junta’s narrative that it is improving security in the country.

In an independence day message given over the weekend, Goita said he would spend “day and night” pursuing militant groups. He also called on the population to show vigilance.

Reports suggest that up to 70 people were killed and hundreds more wounded as JNIM

fighters attacked Bamako’s national airport – damaging a plane used by the World Food Programme – and stormed a military police school, on 17 September.

JNIM only makes rare forays into Bamako, and may have been sending a message to the junta that it remains a potent force despite the military operations launched against it.

Goita first seized power in 2020 as the jihadist insurgency was worsening, and has since welcomed in the military support of Russian mercenaries, while booting out French troops and a UN peacekeeping mission that were previously on the ground.

The junta has won some local support by vowing to expand state sovereignty lost to the jihadists – which began a now-regionalised rebellion in 2012 – and to separatist-oriented groups based in the north.

Yet insecurity has worsened in recent years and democratic freedoms have shrunk as authorities have cracked down on opposition groups and the media, and delayed a promised return to civilian rule.

For more context and background, read our report on the security situation published earlier this year: